KDF special forces kill 24 Al Shabaab militants in Bilis Qooqani

Reports out of Bilis Qooqani describe a movie scene of sorts where 24 Al Shabaab militants were left dead after they ambushed a squad of 10 Special Forces soldiers from KDF’s Special Operations Regiment (SOR). According to the three-day-old report, the Special Forces soldiers had set up camp for the night in a forest near the town before a journey to Afmadow which was planned for the next morning.

The attack is said to have happened at around midnight when one of the soldiers heard a trip alarm go off in the perimeter about a kilometer away. He quickly woke the rest of the soldiers up and they were combat ready within the shortest time. Instead of waiting on the attackers, however, their commander gave the order to engage, much to the surprise of the over 50 Al Shabaab militants who were caught pants down by bullet and grenade fire. The gunfight went on for about 30 minutes when in a twist of fate, the KDF’s SOR soldiers ran out of ammunition. They were left with what they thought was a suicide mission.

“We knew that if we were captured we would be tortured and decapitated. There was only one way out. “one of the soldiers said on record. “It was time to refer to our close quarter combat training, and it came in very handy”. he continued.

Using the trees and night cover, the 10 special forces soldiers charged with only their fists and bayonets as weapons; stabbing, punching and biting their way through their adversaries amidst heavy fire from some of the militants. They managed to capture several guns while killing their opponents which they then used to return fire.

At this point, even the militants’ ammunition was starting to run low and it was evident they could not handle the onslaught. One by one they started to turn and run with others even leaving their weapons behind. After the battle, 24 Al Shabaab militants lay dead while many others escaped with multiple wounds.

“We were pretty banged up at the end. Three of us got shot and one other had a nasty stab wound on his stomach. They are slowly recovering in hospital.” said their commander.

KDF has been deploying Special Forces for covert missions in Somalia including the SOR. The Special Operations Force unit’s traditional missions include Unconventional Warfare (UW), Direct Action (DA), and Close Target Reconnaissance (CTR).